Inside Premier League: Race For First Place

The Barclay Premier League is nearing another dramatic conclusion. With 12 games remaining, the unexpected Leicester City is in first place with 53 points. Closely behind them is Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, both tied with 51 points. In fourth place is Manchester City with 47 points and Manchester United with 41 points.

This weekend featured games that would have massive title implications.

Arsenal 2:1 Leicester City

Arsenal defeated league leaders Leicester City 2:1 to help them close the point gap.

In the first half, both teams were evenly matched. Each having chances in the first half, the outstanding defensive effort by both teams made it hard to score.

Arsenal received three yellow cards in the first half, the third being in the 43rd-minute, which allowed Jaime Vardy to score off of a penalty kick, putting Leicester up going into halftime.

In the second half, the game switched in Arsenal’s favor. Within the first 12 minutes of the second half, Leicester City had earned three yellow cards as a team. In the 53rd minute Danny Simpson received a red card, putting the team down a player.

Arsenal took advantage of the situation in the 69th-minute, when Theo Walcott shot the ball from the right side of the 6th-yard box to tie the game at 1.

In the last minute of the game, when it seemed as if the match would end in a draw, Danny Welbeck headed the ball from the center of the box into the bottom left corner, winning the game for Arsenal. He then received a yellow card for excessive celebration.

Manchester City 1:2 Tottenham Hotspur

Also on Sunday, Tottenham beat Manchester City 2:1 on Sunday to put them into second place, ahead of Man City. Both teams played strong in the first half, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Eight minutes into the second half, Tottenham received a penalty shot from a controversial handball in the box, much to the dismay of the City fans. Harry Kane calmly slotted home the penalty shot to give Tottenham the lead.

In the 74th-minute, Kelechi Iheanacho received a beautiful low cross in the box. He placed the ball past a diving Hugo Lloris to tie the game at 1:1.

As the game neared its conclusion, birthday boy Christian Eriksen received a beautiful through-ball from Erik Lamela, giving him a one-on-one with the keeper. Eriksen blasted the ball past to claim the win for Tottenham.